While Hassam is better known for his New England subjects, his French and American city scenes capture the picturesque qualities of popular parks, boulevards, and commercial districts. This evocative nocturne of urbanites in Longacre Square (now known as Times Square) is quietly atmospheric. Blanketing the vibrant cross-streets with weather effects and the glow of electricity—that powered and illuminated the new trolley cars —Hassam aestheticizes the modern in early twentieth-century New York.